In addition to competing domestically in the Lithuanian Basketball League, Vytautas has also regularly competed in the lower-levelBaltic Basketball League against teams from other Baltic countries, and won the Elite Division there last year. But now that the Balls have arrived, Vytautas is pulling out of that competition for a five-game exhibition tournament called the “Big Baller Brand Challenge Games,” which will be aired on Facebook:

In another plot twist, Vytautas just withdrew from the Baltic Basketball League in the middle of the season and will organize the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games, a series of five friendly games, instead.

“We’re discussing a new tournament now to play five games here in Prienai in our arena,” the team’s general manager, Adomas Kubilius, told ESPN. “It would be with EuroLeague teams.

“We’re talking to teams like Zalgiris and CSKA Moscow about playing in it. It would be an opportunity for them to play more games, and play against players of similar age.”

The club officially announced (Lithuanian) the tournament’s creation Friday, but only with other teams from Lithuania instead of the EuroLeague teams the GM mused about. Here’s more on it from a release from Facebook:

Prienai-Birstonas “Vytautas” basketball club, the Lithuanian team LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball have signed with, announced today that they are creating the “Big Baller Brand Challenge Games” to tip off the professional careers of LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball and showcase some of the top young Lithuanian basketball talent to the world. The Big Baller Brand Challenge Games is a new series of five exhibition games played between Vytautas and professional clubs from across Lithuania.

Withdrawing from a competition halfway through to play exhibition games is a bit curious, but it’s far from the strangest thing that’s shown up around the Ball family. And the Facebook partnership makes sense; there’s clearly a U.S. audience interested in watching how the Balls do, and maybe a global one, and the Balls already have had a successful partnership with the company thanks to their “Ball In The Family” reality show, which is currently in its second season. And filming in Lithuania, to the annoyance of some new teammates:

Not all "Vytautas" players like BigBallers reality show in Lithuania. Tomas Dimsa: "I don't like it. We are practising and there are hundred cameras. What for?"

Those surveyed by Deloitte averaged three streaming service subscriptions, but many weren't thrilled with the numbers of services they had to subscribe to get what they want. That's worth noting for sports, considering the fragmentation in the sports streaming landscape.

Those surveyed by Deloitte averaged three streaming service subscriptions, but many weren't thrilled with the numbers of services they had to subscribe to get what they want. That's worth noting for sports, considering the fragmentation in the sports streaming landscape.